Mixing solids and liquids is well documented in the art. Mixers are often used to mix solids with other solids and liquids. Solids generally refer to particles ranging in size from 1 micron to 2 centimeters. Liquids generally refer to incompressible materials having no shear modulus.
Mixers in the art introduce solids and liquids through a series of stages in an apparatus, such as one stage at either an intermediate or end position. Solids in bulk raw material form are typically introduced to a hopper at the first stage of an apparatus. The hopper may have agitation to assist with transferring the solids from the hopper. The solids, after passing through the hopper, are transferred through different stages of the apparatus using one or more augers.
An auger is an axially rotatable screw feed. In the art, an auger is commonly used to feed solids into a mixer. The mixer may have an axially rotatable impellor for dispersing the solids throughout the liquids. The mixing process is often centrifugal, which creates a vacuum inside of the mixing device. The resulting mixture of solids and liquids is then drained or pumped from the mixer and used as either the end product or the material for the next step in the process.
The proper mixing of the solids into the liquids may depend upon differences in the amount of the solid present, its particle size, viscosity, or temperature. Proper dispersion also depends upon back pressure at the mixer outlet. In addition, the mixer itself may impede the mixing process. The mixer's centripetal force can create a vacuum that draws in solids at an uncontrollable rate, causing them to mix with the liquids at a variable supply rate.
Pnuematic conveying systems utilizing auger conveyor sections are also used in the art to transport various particulate materials, including pulverized coal, portland cement, grain, and pulverized ore. Typically, the conveying systems contain a motor driven auger rotatably mounted within a barrel, and a mixing chamber where the material is subjected to one or more jets of pressurized air or other gas.
Mixers joined in tandem are also known in the art, and frequently contain a dwell chamber between two mixing heads. Some mixing systems in the art are chemical reforming systems in which organic materials such as municipal waste or coal are chemically reformed from solid materials by pyrolysis in the presence of water to form oils and gasses.
Another area in which the process of mixing solids and liquids is utilized is in preparing soil or other media to be used for potted plants or gardening. Preparing soil mixtures containing fertilizer and/or insecticide that can be used to grow potted plants or placed in gardens involves a number of steps. Generally, bale or bulk media, such as soil, is broken up and then treated with fertilizer and/or insecticide. This treatment process frequently exposes operators to the various chemicals being used. Workers are often splashed with the various chemical treatments as they spray them into the bulk media.
In addition, commercial mixing apparatuses such as those discussed above, and examples of which are cited below, utilize heavy machines that are not easily moved from one location to another. Many of the devices in the art are specifically designed for chemical systems that do not handle heavier materials, such as soil. In addition, mixing soil with various fertilizers or chemicals is a delicate process often requiring a gentle action so as to not crush the vermiculite, which are minerals found in the soil that help plants absorb potassium.
One example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,712,496 B2, issued Mar. 30, 2004 to Louis Alvin Kressin, et al. The Kressin et al. apparatus utilizes an auger to transport solids from a hopper to a mixer with a controlled delivery rate of the solids into the mixer without the need for an evacuation step. The apparatus receives solids at a hopper inlet and distributes them through a hopper outlet into a throat section containing an axially rotatable auger. The throat section has an outlet in communication with a mixer. The axial rotation of the auger moves the solids through the throat section and into the mixer. The delivery rate of the soil into the mixer is in proportion with the rotational speed of the auger. This reference deals primarily with achieving sufficient distribution of solids in a liquid.
Another example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,120, issued Mar. 19, 1996 to David L. Baker. The Baker apparatus chemically reforms organic materials using a rotational tube positioned in a tubular housing, and a flow conduit system that allows fluid material within the housing to move between different access ports within the housing. The device allows various raw materials to be chemically reformed.
A third example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,072, issued Mar. 20, 1984 to Joseph L. Nothnagel. The Nothnagel apparatus discloses a mixing device containing a reverse-twist auger located within a dwell chamber. The device incorporates a number of valves and conduits to supply reactants to liquid within the dwell chamber, allowing for component mixing and dwell time. The device also contains a dispensing valve and includes a means for cleaning the valve to prevent reactant buildup. The products, after leaving the dwell chamber, travel to a second mixing head and then a final valve, which releases the final product. This device focuses on allowing increased dwell time of mixtures without permitting a buildup of reactive material on the walls of the dwell chamber, and relates to polyurethane gels filled with particles of aqueous solutions.
A fourth example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,711,607, issued on Dec. 8, 1987 to Charles Wynosky. The Wynosky apparatus discloses a conveying system that utilizes a hopper-fed auger section for transporting material through and toward the end of a barrel, and mixing said material with a pressurized gas flow. The auger conveyor section includes a cylindrical barrel enclosing a rotatably mounted auger conveyor for transporting particulate material towards a discharge end of the barrel and for ejecting the material. The invention inserts pressurized gas to help propel material through the conduit.
A fifth example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,980, issued on Apr. 9, 1991 to Harold Zimmerman. The Zimmerman apparatus discloses a mixing machine that processes waste materials for disposal by mixing the waste with an inert material, such as soil. The apparatus receives waste and inert materials in separate hoppers and conveys them to a mixing chamber for uniform mixing in prescribed ratios. Each hopper contains augers that pull material away from the hopper to the mixing chamber, which also contains an auger. The material is discharged from the machine after passing through the mixing chamber. The apparatus is designed to be mounted on a trailer or permanently mounted on the ground. Each component of this machine is hydraulically driven to provide for independent operation.
A sixth example of a prior art apparatus is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,069,677 B2, issued on Jul. 4, 2006 to Cheng-Feng Chang. The Chang apparatus discloses a method for producing a ready-mix soil material by crushing earth material from a work site, sieving the earth material to obtain raw soil, and mixing metered amounts of the soil with at least one strength enhancing additive. The resulting mixture is then used to refill a work site. The method also involves establishing a database for soil mix combinations and corresponding mechanical properties. This reference focuses on reducing discarded earth material at work sites by using the material to create refilling material.
None of these prior art devices teach or suggest a portable soil mixing apparatus for mixing soil and a media, the apparatus comprising a housing having a rotatable auger mounted longitudinally within the housing, the housing provided with a first lower end, an intermediate section and a second raised end with the second raised end raised relative to said first lower end. In addition, none of these prior art devices teach or suggest a soil mixing apparatus having a hopper coupled to the first lower end of the housing so that the rotatable auger extends into the hopper for moving the soil toward the second raised end, and a valve apparatus coupled to the housing at the intermediate section of the housing for introducing the media to the soil as the soil is moved from the hopper to the second raised end, said valve apparatus having an inlet water supply that allows water to be introduced at the intermediate section, and a treatment inlet supply that allows an additive to be added to the soil at the intermediate section.